City Breaks Ground On New Soccer Complex

Standing on a mound of dirt where there will soon be two world-class soccer fields, a group of Dalton leaders and also some young soccer players dug in shovels Thursday to break ground on the new Heritage Point Soccer Complex. The groundbreaking ceremony for the complex kicks off construction for the site now that the ground clearing work has been completed. 

City Councilmember Dennis Mock thanked the voters of Dalton and Whitfield County, noting that the project is being funded by the 2020 SPLOST which was approved by the voters. Mock praised the soccer community of Dalton, noting that three of the four high schools in Whitfield County are home to reigning state championship teams despite not having the best facilities in the state on which to compete. Until recently, there were no FIFA-regulation sized soccer fields in the county. The Heritage Point complex will have two full-sized FIFA fields and the Dalton Public Schools' stadium on the Dalton Junior High campus adds another. A fourth FIFA-regulation field is being completed at Whitfield County's new Riverbend Park. 

Mock said that Dalton hopes to remain "Soccertown USA" with the new soccer facilities in place. 

Andrew Parker, Dalton's city administrator, noted that the construction of the soccer complex on the site puts an end to more than 25 years of waiting for the land to be developed for use for sports. The site is just adjacent to the Heritage Point Park complex and when that project was completed the plan was always to expand into the area which will now be home to the soccer complex. 

Below: City administrator Andrew Parker, Councilmember Dennis Mock, Parks and Recreation Director Caitlin Sharpe, and Recreation Chair Allison Whittle addressed the gathering as part of the groundbreaking ceremony